The FBI’s 9/11 Role by the Numbers

The FBI’s 9/11 Role by the Numbers

The FBI responded to September 11 in extraordinary fashion. More than 4,000 special agents and 3,000 professional employees helped in the recovery and subsequent investigation. A single crime scene at the Pentagon in Virginia or at the World Trade Center alone likely would have eclipsed any previous investigative effort. The combination—along with the crash site in Pennsylvania—challenged the FBI to deploy its assets efficiently and in innovative ways. All FBI Headquarters divisions, field offices, and nearly every unit at the FBI Laboratory contributed. Among the efforts:

In New York, more than 1,000 FBI employees from 55 of the 56 field offices worked to recover victims, evidence, and personal belongings.

At the Pentagon, 155 FBI employees from eight field offices recovered evidence.